I'm getting ready to visit my kids in New York City and staying with my daughter on the 5th floor of an apartment building. I had initially been thinking - a 5th floor walk-up? Yikes! Now, I'm thinking - a 5th floor walk-up - YEAH!!!

Years ago, I opposed capital punishment, based on the argument that no government should be so powerful that it can take the life of a citizen. Then each year there would be more exceptions, men whose crimes were so heinous that I'd say "except for this guy."

Now I consider capital punishment my default position, with leniency only for the rare exception.

I'm not sure if it says more about me, or the system we now have, but I think it's a shame that the police caught this guy; I think it would have been better if he'd been caught by a gang of vigilantes. His trial and appeals will stretch on for years, and then he'll get three hots and a cot on our dime and basically retire to an (albeit austere) assisted living facility.

It's a damned shame that there is no god of the Old Testament for this situation.

I've not got the stats but I would think that elevator travel would be nearly as safe (aside from a murderous psychopath out for revenge) as commercial air travel. I do know that there are an awful lot of elevators in this town going up and down safely conveying people without incident.

Ironic that I recently started taking the stairs to my sixth floor apartment, rather than the elevator, for the exercise.

This evil S.O.B. will be punished with a long life of free meals, TV, friends, a wife and family and all the time he needs to read, write, learn, explore history, literature, art, and current events He will likely be better off in the long run for doing this to this poor woman.

And best of all we get to feel all warm and fuzzy about our compassion too. It's a win - win!

The murder could have happened anywhere, but there is something creepy about elevators. It's one of the few ways in your day that you are fully confined and helpless, without options and entirely at the mercy of a machine. The buttons only pretend to give you control. They function more like a weak plea for release. You ask, and then just wait for HAL to decide.

Read this story earlier, before going to church. The cold, calculated cruelty is horrific. I don't know if you could punish this guy harshly enough. Maybe that's why there's a place where you burn for eternity.